A Mole's Tale
by MAndrews
Summary: Book tells a revealing story to the children on Haven.


Disclaimer: Firefly is one of Joss Whedon's 'verses, and the characters are his. He doesn't seem to mind us playing with them.

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Book had settled on Haven some weeks ago. The people of the out of the way moon have welcomed him gladly and in even less time that it had taken on Serenity, he was part of the close knit community. He enjoyed the chance to take up gardening again and to move more freely than had been possible on a small firefly class ship. He did miss the crew sometimes, but he had many things to occupy his mind. In particular, the children of Haven were often sent to Book's small chapel to keep them entertained while their parents worked. Book tried to use the time for their education on a semi regular basis, but children being children, and many of them very clever, they more often than not managed to distract him. Frequently the distraction took the form of demands for a story. They were never satisfied with the old standbys their parents told them, much preferring the original stories Book usually came up with for them. One of their favourites he called A Mole's Tale.

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Once upon a time there was an Empire. The Empire was a beautiful place, made up of dozens of luxurious islands and full of sorcerers, those talented people who learned the magic necessary to make life easier. But these islands were surrounded by other islands that were not so beautiful, where life was harder, and sorcerers less common. And the people in these other islands were jealous of the wealth they could not share, and angry at the way the Empire's citizens treated them. The Empire and The Others went to war. When it was over, the Empire had won, but they knew that the war was not truly over. They had lost much in the war and hoped that if they could eliminate those who continued to oppose them, they could prevent a second war. So they began to prepare. In the dark caves and smaller islands, they set up forges and began to create new weapons. These were not weapons of war, but weapons of the shadows; weapons they could use in secret.

Now, some of the people who still opposed the Empire were called The Moles. The Moles knew that the Empire was evil, but they also knew that the Empire was right; another war would destroy both sides. Whatever was to come must be done differently. The Moles knew of the shadow weapons the Empire was creating and began plotting to steal them. Although they had several members hidden in the Empire's ranks, none of them could get close enough to steal a Shadow Weapon.

One Day, the Moles heard tales of a young sorcerer who was desperately searching for his sister, an exceptionally powerful young mage, who had been stolen from him. The sorcerer believed that it was the Empire who had stolen her and although he had been born into one of the Empire's most powerful noble families, he had turned his back on all of it to save his sister.

Now the Moles knew that the young sorcerer was right. The Empire had stolen his sister to create one of their Shadow Weapons. The Empire had learned to make a magical sword using the soul of a mage, one gifted with natural magic. The rituals were dangerous and often deadly, but the Moles knew that the sorcerer's sister was still alive. They asked around and soon discovered that the sorcerer still had most of his gold, and, if rumours were true, was also a mage. They were delighted for they realized that, with the help of the young sorcerer, they could at last take one of the Empire's secret weapons. Though they felt pity for the stolen sister, they knew that the weapon the Empire was forging from her soul could be turned against the Empire itself, for these magical swords were the greatest of the weapons the Empire sought to create.

The Moles approached the sorcerer and offered their aid. The sorcerer was grateful for their help and almost immediately agreed to work with them to save his sister. Though they told him the truth about the rituals performed on his sister, the Moles were careful to keep their true plans from the sorcerer. And as they worked with him, they began to make other plans as well. The sorcerer was indeed, a mage as well, although he did not seem to know this. As the day for the theft drew near, the Moles completed their plans. On the day, a Mole would go in and steal the sword that the Empire's mages had put the sister's soul in. The sorcerer would meet them in a secret cave to take her away and hide her until he could find a way to reverse it and take her out of the sword and make her human again. But the truth was that when the sorcerer met them in the cave, he would not leave with the sword and his sister's soul. Both the sorcerer and the sword would serve the Moles and help them take down the Empire.

Two days before the theft, the sorcerer came to the Moles and suggested a change in plans. The sorcerer wanted to go in to steal the sword holding his sister's soul himself, and then he would bring it to the Moles. They hoped he had not seen through their tricks, but just in case, they sent one of their own to follow him.

The Mole who was sent had once been one of the Empire's Shadow Knights, a dangerous and ruthless soldier and sorcerer. He watched from a distance and when the young sorcerer fled with the sword, he saw and followed. The Shadow Knight reported to the other Moles and they agreed to let the sorcerer run. The sword was not finished, and the Moles knew that the sorcerer would have to finish it before he could begin trying to make his sister human again. The Shadow Knight would follow the sorcerer and report back to the other Moles until the sword was complete and then he would bring them both back.

And so the Shadow Knight followed the sorcerer to the Other Islands. And when the sorcerer bought passage on a ship, the Shadow Knight bought passage on the same ship. And when the Empire's soldier tried to take the sorcerer back, the Shadow Knight stepped in to stop him.

Time passed and the sorcerer made progress with the sword. And the people on the boat began to accept both the sorcerer and the sword that was his sister. As the sister's soul became more free of the Empire's spells, the Shadow Knight began to fear that her magic would discover him before it was time to bring them back to The Moles. Since the sorcerer and his sister seemed settled on the boat, he found a small island to settle on that he might watch from a distance. And to this day he watches, waiting for the right time.


End file.
